Ballots to remain uncounted in MI and Stein blocked in Philly. Guest: Election integrity, law expert Paul Lehto says this proves 'only option is to get it right on Election Night'. Also: Trump taps climate denier, fossil-fuel tool for EPA...

Maryland was the "model state" for Diebold. It was amongst the first to roll out a near state-wide adoption of the new paperless Diebold DRE (touch-screen) voting machines after the 2000 election.

Diebold plowed millions into advertising campaigns across the state in order to declare the dawn of their new electronic voting age. "It's Here!" screamed billboards on buses, billboards, mall kiosks and television commercials --- "Maryland's Better Way to Vote".

In the letter sent by Maryland's Republican governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. to the State Board of Elections on Wednesday, he declares that he "no longer [has] confidence in the State Board of Elections' ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006."

Citing the "widespread national concern about the reliability and security of electronic voting systems," the decertification and denial of certification of Diebold around the country, and the need to "get aggressive in responding to citizens' concerns over public confidence in the elections system," Ehrlich says it's time to demand paper ballots once again in the State of Maryland.

"It is my personal belief," writes Ehrlich in a letter to BoE Chairman, Gilles Burger, "that the voters of Maryland should be allowed to vote a paper ballot or have a voter verification paper-trail to electronic voting as reassurance to voters that their votes are being accurately cast."

In his excoriating letter to Burger, the Governor goes on to cite the 78% increase in base cost for the system over original estimates and the --- sit down for this --- "1000% increase for estimates of the annual maintenance costs for this system."

"The cost of Maryland's Diebold voting machines has skyrocketed as our confidence in the system has plummeted," wrote the Governor.

Finally, the letter concludes with a brutal condemnation of the MD Elections Administrator, Linda Lamone, charging that her work and that of her staff, has been "primarily on behalf of partisan legislators and their interests and not on the interests of the citizens of Maryland."

Lamone, who is currently President of the National Association of State Elections Directors (NASED) has been a champion of Diebold's paperless touch-screen machines in the state. She recently testified to the state Senate that there was not enough time or money to add "voter-vefied paper trails" to Maryland's touch-screen machines prior to the 2006 election. As well, she has maintained for years that the system is safe, reliable and secure. Those claims are not well-founded.

An internal review by the state Elections Board after the 2004 election titled "Lessons Learned" [PDF] reveals that "189 voting units (7%) of units deployed failed on Election Day. An additional 122 voting units (or 5%) were suspect based on number of votes captured."

Those documented failures, of course, are just the ones we know about. In Leon County, Florida, when Diebold machines were hacked last December, it was done without a trace being left behind.

Some Democrats in the Maryland Senate, however, are critical of Ehrlich who, they point out, had previously blocked efforts to include "voter-verified paper trails" on Maryland's paperless touch-screen machines.

That, however, was several months, and many "Diebold hacks" ago. Despite Diebold spokesman David "Baghdad" Bear's predictable response that there is still nothing to worry about and these machines work just great! --- there is most definitely something to worry about and the machines are terrible. Democrats in Maryland would be wise to recognize that, and be wary of getting lost in partisan politics, even if they were the ones responsible for deploying these crappy systems across the state in the first place.

The BRAD BLOG cannot overstate the devastating impact of Ehrlich's letter on the future of Diebold's Electronic Voting Machine hopes for this country. And it comes not a moment too soon.

[UPDATE:RAW STORY reports Maryland used Diebold machines in 2002 Gubernatorial Election and 2002 primary without certification, in violation of the law! And more...]

As you are aware, there has been widespread national concern about the reliability and security of electronic voting systems. Many states have decertified Diebold voting machines, including those similar to the ones used in Maryland, because certain components were never subjected to federal testing. In light of these recent national decertifications and the Maryland General Assembly's decision to override my vetoes of bills implementing early voting and allowing voters to cast ballots anywhere in the state, I no longer have confidence in the State Board of Elections' ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006.

California, Pennsylvania, and dozens of local jurisdictions recently have decertified or denied certification to the Diebold voting machines pending further testing by federal authorities, citing, among other concerns, the potential for manipulation of election results due to the susceptibility to tampering of the vote-counting memory cards. In response, the Independent Testing Authority (ITA) has been reviewing Diebold voting systems and their electronic components for almost two months and has not released any findings. The State Administrator issued a letter to Diebold requesting daily status reports on the testing, but to my knowledge, no information has been shared with the State Board of Elections members, the Administration or the General Assembly about the implications for Maryland with regard to this testing.

It is imperative that I receive accurate information on the potential consequences that these test results may have on Maryland's ability to conduct fair and accurate elections this year. In discussions with my staff, you have stated that members of the State Board of Elections have not received regular updates on the testing controversy. I believe that it is time for the Board to get aggressive in responding to citizens' concerns over public confidence in the elections system.

In addition to the lack of confidence he declares in the entire system, Ehrlich goes on to describe the sky-rocketing cost of maintaining the system:

I also continue to be troubled by the rapidly escalating costs of election administration in Maryland, especially in comparison to fiscal estimates that were prepared for the General Assembly. In 2001, Governor Glendening signed House Bill 1457 requiring the State Board of Elections to select and implement a uniform statewide voting system. At that time, the General Assembly's fiscal note for House Bill 1457 estimated that the total cost would be $36,890,000. The actual cost, which has been financed by the State Treasurer was $65,564,674 – an almost 78 % increase from the original cost estimate. However, this misjudgment pales in comparison to the 1000% increase for estimates of the annual maintenance costs for this system. The 2001 fiscal note estimated such maintenance would be $858,000. For the upcoming fiscal year, the State Board of Elections requested $9,528,597 for these costs. The cost of Maryland's Diebold voting machines has skyrocketed as our confidence in the system has plummeted.

In 2005, the State Board of Elections provided a fiscal estimate of $175,000 for the State costs associated with an early voting program, which will now be implemented because the General Assembly overrode my veto. Astonishingly, the State Administrator recently submitted a supplemental budget request that increases these statewide costs from $175,000 to $11.5 million.

Finally, after a list of questions about Diebold's touch-screen and optical-scan machines, the status of their testing by the Independent Testing Authority (ITA) --- which is only "independent" if you believe a "testing authority" should be selected, coordinated and funded by the very companies whose equipment they are responsible for testing --- in light of the Leon County, FL hack, and the possibility of complete Federal decertification of Diebold Voting Machines before the 2006 elections, Ehrlich concludes by issuing a no-uncertain-terms rebuke of Lamone and her staff:

Finally, I want to express my disappointment with the State Board of Elections' staff. The State Board of Elections is intended to be an independent, non-partisan agency and should not take positions on partisan election law issues. While I expect the Elections Administrator and her staff to testify on all issues relating to the administration of elections as directed by their Board, it has become evident that they have been working primarily on behalf of partisan legislators and their interests and not on the interests of the citizens of Maryland. A recent legislative briefing revealed actions by a staff member of the Board of Elections where he was surreptitiously advocating to override the Governor's veto in direct opposition with the Board's position. The recurring lack of judgment by the State Board of Elections' staff cannot not be tolerated. I urge the State Board of Elections to restore the independence and fairness of the elections office; otherwise we risk losing public confidence in Maryland's election processes.

The republicans, democrats and independents especially are saying... "No more."

You're not going to sell your garbage foreign systems to us anymore.

You're not going to elect any neocon/neoliberal anymore or anybody else to carry out your bullshit foreign agenda.

And if you want your trash, worthless, scum-ridden filth machines anywhere in our states....ANYWHERE, you can try coming in with your gun to put them there.

Because that's the only way that you will ever get past us buddy.....we'll throw you out on the street, and take it straight into the courts. As the proof in our court documents show, the machines are all pieces of shit.

Wealthy Diebold stockholders that have dumped the stock already got the taxpayers dollar anyway when the stock was high, so they don't give a shit what happens to Die-bold
So now what happens, the taxpayer has to pay for new machines all over again, them same investors are probably in the new company
What a racket

Everyone in every state using touch screen paperless voting machines should boycott the next election in their district and state unless/until a "paper" system is in place. Otherwise, why vote?
The successful hack in Leon County, Fla. as well as many subsequent, successful hacks into Diebold machines further erodes our democratic system of a government "of the people". Do we have a constitution any longer? I suspect not. And we have the audacity to ensure that Iraq's measure of a "democracy" is one of free & fair elections - hah!
How hypocritical can one get? We are certainly not the poster child for free & fair elections, are we?

I like Arizona's new approach to the ongoing corruption in the federal government by basically having another "boston tea party" - right now we definitely have "taxation without representation" and they are collecting the income taxes, deducting the amount paid by the state for illegal aliens using the state system, and then, and only then, giving the remainder to the federal government....sounds like a good idea to me. Definitely a way to finally have some voice in our government!

P.S. I've finally figured out what the moniker "neocon" REALLY stands for.....It's definitely not "neoconservative" but "neo-conartist", the new wave of con jobs where truth means nothing and the definitions of traditional terms have been reversed. Reminds me of discovering our kids saying that something was "bad" when they were giving the highest accolade or praise to it. The fact is that we've all been royally "conned" and continue to be - every day it's something else...they have our heads spinning with daily events that absolutely boggle the mind with flagrant evidence of corruption, abuse of power, irresponsibility and lack of accountability. These elected officials (and yes, that means the Pres and Veep) need to be reminded that they are "servants" of the people and do their jobs at the pleasure of the people (don't see how W does anything with his being on a perpetual "campaign" gallavanting around the country trying spending $ 1.6 million trying to influence the polls) (oops! I momentarily forgot that "we don't listen to the polls...hahaha!).

I suspect that if the people do nothing about it (i.e. press for impeachment) it will continue for the remainder of this pathethic administration's term. I don't believe that this country can withstand it, frankly. It's evident that, in all areas, we are coming apart at the seams. What's next? Check in manana....because there will be something more....something that may trump even today's disclosures and debacles! :hehe:

I finally did what I have been telling myself I had to do: write to my county elections official and ask the tough questions. In Oregon we have all mail-in paper ballots, but those ballots are counted by optical scan machines. Below is what I wrote - I'm looking forward to the response:

I am a resident of Lake Oswego. I have become very concerned about the
integrity of the vote counting in Clackamas County and throughout the rest of
the State of Oregon.

There has been much written and said about the manipulation of the Diebold and
ES&S (and perhaps other) voting machines. While I am aware that Oregon has
universal mail-in paper ballots, those ballots are counted by an optical scan
machine. I would like to know the brand and model # of the optical scan
machines used in Clackamas County. I would also like to know if there are
written standards, criteria, guidelines (rules, code, etc) which direct how you
assure (certify, etc) that the ballot counts are accurate. I am making a public
records request for these written, or computer-based documents.

Do you have someone on staff, or a contract consultant, who conducts tests on
these optical scan machines to assure their accuracy? Or, do you rely on
personnel from and outside company(ies) who perform "independent" testing? Does
Clackamas County use the Independent Testing Authority (ITA)? [This entity can
only be considered "independent" if you believe a "testing authority" should be
selected, coordinated and funded by the very companies whose equipment they are
responsible for testing.] Have you signed a contract which allows the company
who sells the optical scanners to claim that computer chips in the machines are
"proprietary?" I would like a copy of the contract which you used to purchase
the optical scanners now in use in Clackamas County.

It would be a mistake for Clackamas County citizens to sit back smugly thinking
that paper ballots assures that all is well. As Peter King, (R-NY) famously
said in the summer of 2003: "It's all over but the counting, and we'll take
care of the counting." Even in states with paper ballots, it must be remembered
that optical scanners are computers and are subject to accidental or deliberate
miscoding and “hacking.” The infamous Leon County, Florida "hacking"
demonstration was on an optical scanner.

I would very much appreciate a communication from you which explains the
controls which are in place that assures citizens of Clackamas County that their
votes are being accurately counted.

Honest and accurate vote counting is the bedrock of democracy. I want to know
before November 2006 that my vote will be counted for the candidates I vote for.

http://www.BradBlog.com/archives/00002431.htm
And this one discusses the breaking news in Maryland where the Republican
Governor sent a letter to the State Board of Elections on Wednesday, declaring
that he "no longer [has] confidence in the State Board of Elections’ ability to
conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006" based on his concern about the
reliability and security of electronic voting systems and partisan activities of
the staff.

For Roz: I have a slightly better idea, I think. Instead of boycotting the fall election, every eligible voter in a state using a Diebold, E.S.&S., or Sequoia machine should demand an absentee (paper) ballot.

If asked why it's needed, the response is, "The machines you're using have been proven unreliable.
I'm protecting my right to have my vote counted."
The point is made without forfeiting a vote.

I hope that is the end of Diebold and the crap that they have been shoveling. However election fraud and incompetance is not limited to diebold. this should serve as a warning to all the vendors. WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND FAT ELECTIONS (Fair, Accurate, Transparent) We are watching. We are organizing. We are growing in numbers daily. We are getting stronger as a political force and we are comming after them. We damand nothing less than a voter verified paper BALLOT and routine audits of all elections

From much that was said and written about the 2004 election, the only way absentee ballots are counted is in a tight race; I think they've already been marginalized. You're not talking to the people who marginalized your vote when you talk to the poll workers (unless it's just by luck), it's the Board of Elections that has (knowingly or unknowingly) marginalized our votes.

You need a mechanism to verify and if necessary prove and correct your vote. The day of the vote being untraceable/unverifiable/uncorrectable by the voter should be DEAD.

This from the same Gov. that refused to even think about a paper trail for the last election? Even though John Hopkins showed how easy it was to hack into before the last election? Refused a paper trail for the 04 elections because it cost too much and even though polls showed a large majority of voters wanted one? He must be running for re-election. http://www.truevotemd.org/

Amazing! Have any democrat Governers done anything similar? Sadly I doubt it. They wouldn't want to rock the boat.
I'm fed up with our Dems. It seems like the Republicans are more vocal concerning this subject.

In MN we use the optical scanner ballots. Does anyone know how safe they are? I'm thinking no if the results get sent to a central tabulator. If that's the case, then Tim "the lying weasel" Pawlenty will mysteriously be reelected. And GW once again??

My daughters & I voted by absentee ballot in '04 here in Florida. How do we know they were counted at all? How do we know they didn't go straight into the trash?
We don't.
I don't see the advantage of absentee ballots and I don't see the advantage of a 'paper trail'.
I think voting should be done with paper & pencil and large numbers of honest, non-partisan inspectors.
HA! Right.

I am in Maryland. Let me tell you I would not even trust Bob Ehrlich even if I could see him standing in front of me. I am also involved with TrueVoteMD although I want to make CLEAR that MY opinion is SOLELY my own and I in NO way speak for TrueVote.

I personally see in this supposedly GREAT story, a very dark lining. "Governor Bob" does not see any changes being made till 2008 or is NOT going to push for this 2006 election.

To rejoice in this Criminal saying he has reservations about Diebold is, given HIS record and lying, totally unwarranted.

Ehrlich is a crook .. . . a neoconservative. HE has an angle. HE is up for re election in 2006 and in NO way wants to see Diebold out of the picture for HE and Michael Steele (HIS house slave) Republican for our Senate seat.

Ehrlich has Banned the press from questioning his policies and banned journalists from interviewing himself or his employees . . JUST like the Bush Crime Family does.

Brad, Love ya, but If you knew Ehrlich like we do here, HE has an angle and is a Bush following Thug.

IF you think about it . . . HE comes out with this "lie" that he has concerns about DRE's? Why? So he can get re elected this year when everyone votes on Diebold machines? All this is IS an election LIE from a LIAR.

I do NOT rejoice in Ehrlich "saying" he has concerns about DRE's.

Martin O'Malley is a dumb idiot and a clueless Dem. And Douglas Duncan wants DRE's with a Printer "paper trail" which is financially stupid for our state and means nothing.

Ehrlich has been VERY AGAINST getting rid of Diebold and DRE's up until this article. It's been a huge fight here. WHY NOW he comes out with this?

OMG I am SO pissed, that people think this is ANYTHING but Business as usual politics. WHY are people so willing to believe this Crook, this lying LIAR.

OMG I am MAD! 2008? Well, he and Steele will be safely in place by then . .so they can block any legislation to correct our voting system.

DIG deeper. Criminal Governor Bob is as much of a liar as the Chimp is. This is all a lie on his part so he can keep his Republican base and appear as though he "cares" about us in the state.

P.S. We now have cameras every where . .at every stop light and god knows where else.

PLEASE don't play this up that a Republican Governor comes out against Diebold and DRE's in his own election year . where he lies and convinces peopel to vote for him because he cares about election integrity.

HE has fought TOOTH and NAIL against getting rid of Diebold. OMG!!!!! The ghost of Christmas future did NOT visit this man and give him an epiphany. Trust me.

For Joan: Paper ballots aren't nirvana if they're counted by a central tabulator manufactured by Diebold or one of the other corrupt companies, true. But if millions of voters demanded an absentee ballot, and said it was because they didn't trust any electronic voting machine, I have to believe the message would get through.

An AHA moment! Here we are thinking that the Republican Governor of Maryland is a man of integrity and has a real spine in taking on the Elections Director for use of Diebold machines that had never been certified. Now we learn he was doing damage control.

Linda Schade, executive director of TrueVoteMD.org, an election integrity group, pursuant to a public records request came up with the documents that revealed this. These machines were in use for the 2002 GOVERNOR'S race and the 2004 elections. It's time for a hacking demonstration .... and a new governor?

Ct Secy of State, Susan Bycsiwiez, declined to institute HAVA in our state using the proffered touch screen machines available because they did not offer a paper trail nor did they have complete facilities for the use by the disabled. Her reason to the Feds for not complying with HAVA was that they had exhausted the resources that they had been offered by the various companies and could not find any that satisfied the requirements of either the State or Federal Gov. Our Gov. is Jodi Rell-R but the rest of the Admin is Democratic. Jodi didn't offer even a peep.

One another thing. I work as the Absentee Ballot Moderator in our town. The ranking Republican member and I take turns in elections as to who gets to be 'Top Dog' or Moderator for the election. Our ballot crews are equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats who count the ballots - one on one. We act as a watchdog on each other.
The greatest number of discarded ballots (that means uncounted, not thrown away - they have to keep them for a requsite number of days by state law) are those that are filled out INCORRECTLY. People do not read the instructions on the ballot and follow them TO THE LETTER!!! We see a certain percentage of votes that go back to the Town Clerk that people just neglected to do as directed. My advise is: If you decide to cast your ballot by absentee, call the Registrar of Voters for your Party and ask what the voting procedure is; i.e. 'Who counts the ballots? Who can challenge the votes? etc. They have to answer your questions ... that's their job.
1. If you send for and receive an absentee ballot, read it carefully before you fill it out. Don't overvote (cast your vote for more than one candidate) Read each and every block and count the number of votes you are allowed to fill in for each office. Example: 10 candidates for six positions.
2. SIGN YOUR BALLOT with your legal name. It's checked against the Registered Voter List before it goes to the ballot counters. Don't get cute with knicknames.
3. Follow the instructions for mailing your ballot back to Town Hall. This is HUGE! Don't try and save a stamp and mail yours back with your spouses in one envelope. Your vote is worth $.39!! Two ballots in one envelope will nullify both votes.
And,
4. if you receive two envelopes with your ballot, send them both back. The instructions tell you what to put inside of which. Do whatever it says...its a privacy issue to protect your vote. Don't make some bonehead decision, "Oh they don't need this back. Silly of them to send two envelopes, I'll throw this one away."
ALWAYS FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. The ballot counters will believe that your vote was tampered with and not count it.
These are the most common mistakes made by absentee balloters. There are others that make my job more difficult, but these three are so simple and yet legally if the voter does any of the above, we cannot count that vote in CT.
Do yourself a big favor. Start informing yourself early if you are thinking about voting as an absentee. Get the info from your Town Hall now. They need time to prepare for a large absentee number of voters; they need to get enough people of both parties in to do the count. Usually there is a certain amount of time within which you can apply to get an absentee ballot. the Town Hall people will know the first date you can ask for one.
This election is too important not to be prepared.

I sent letters to the "elected" officials in my part of Maryland. I was ignored or treated like a naive fool. They are all corrupt and the fraudulent voting system is how they got where they are. Finally I sent a letter to the Attorney General of Maryland requesting his office investigate this crime of vote fraud. I have not received a response. Many citizens need to demand that these critters do their jobs. The AG is required to investigate criminal wrongdoing.

I just had to rant about Ehrlich though. The Baltimore Sun was bought out by Tribune News Services. It has changed a lot. Governor Bob had banned his staff from speaking to anyone from The Sun previously. He felt the Sun was against him when the did their jobs.

Now Tribune owned, I guess he is happy to present his platform via them. He doesn't want to see the change till after he is re elected that is for sure.

Ohio can make a complete conversion in a few months . . yet it has to take us years . . .and they have been fighting these machines here in MD since 2002, probably before. Its a long time.

hugs brad. Lucky you are thousands of miles from this criminal neocon.

What is the difference .the Dems don`t hold achance of winning They just got the rug pulledfrom thier feet over fisa. and didn`t stick together again over patoriaot act even if they don`t win at least they should go down together. I`m getting tird of signing pertitions then when thier party don`t stick together. Help a america from reps that just vote because thier parents did Why don`t they think on there own. Goodbye machines I hope.

Elections are one area where the need for accuracy far outweighs the need for efficiency. We should all return to the model where volunteers from each party count the votes...by hand. This would also hamper media from impacting the outcome of an election (deliberate or not) by reporting up to the minute results. Technology cannot be trusted to do this critical task, especially if there is a buck to be made.

WHY WOULD EITHER PARTY FIGHT PAPER TRAIL FOR EVERY VOTE CAST?ANSWER TO THOW ELECTION TO SOME CROOK THEY PLACE ON BALLOT TO KEEP THIS CORRUPT MAFIA IN PLACE.DEMAND MEANS FOR RECOUNT ON ALL MACHINES,OR WE WILL NEVER REST ASSURED OUR VOTE WAS COUNTED.

"PLEASE don't play this up that a Republican Governor comes out against Diebold and DRE's in his own election year . where he lies and convinces peopel to vote for him because he cares about election integrity."

No one does trust him JPENTZ, that's not the point. The point is TrueVote and so forth are forcing them to adopt the paper ballots. AND they are kicking Diebold out. All the rest is up to us and the courts. Nobody said the governor or any of his "democrats" was on our side, they said it was important that they are putting on the act.

All machines must go! The so called voter-verified paper trails are not enough, the numbers can still be manipulated in the machine with a very small probability of getting caught.

What is wrong with putting pieces of paper with marks on them in a box? Replacing a reliable and simple method with unreliable and complex machines, whether they be of an electronic or punch-card type is just unnecessary overhead. It's a great way to privatise democracy and steal elections though.

Ehrlich may be a slick politician. But he has taken a strong stand against electronic vote fraud. Give him that. Whatever his hidden motives, he's on record as not trusting Diebold's machines, and that can only be good news nationwide.

You are. Ehlrich is a politican, they would try to make it so the machines stay in until 2008 or something. And Maryland voters and officers aren't going to allow that, its up to everyone to push the machines out before then. BEFORE 2008 for Maryland especially.

Doug, I did not express myself clearly enough because what you just said was supposed to be part of my point. (comment 39)

The Govenor "COULD" make this move for the 2006 election IF he wanted to. Right now there are bills in the house and senate which I hope will bring back our optical scan (which also, dependent upon model and use of "memory card), and use of GEMS . . . could still be manipulated, However checks and balances should be in place and it would the better choice . . IF an audit were declared mandatory.

Brad just posted about California recertifying DRE's for their 2006 election. Ohio had about a 4 month turn around where Blackwell did a 180 on DRE's and implemented them.

MD has been fighting this since 2002 (and probably prior).

MY point is Gov. Bob is a great poltician AND IF he were a good PERSON . . . he would make this happen in time for his own election.

OTHER states are doing it and doing complete turn overs within a few months time.

The 2006 election would cost a LOT less if we shipped our Diebold machines right back for being uncertified. AND put 2 optical scan in . . .(for thousands per presinct less than outfitting them all and maintaining the DRE's.

Governor Bob may sound "good" saying this, BUT make it happen in time for THIS election so that Every vote counts and thousands more are not mysteriously lost.

This is TOO important to democracy and transparent, auditable elections for it NOT to take place in 2006.

Actually they are owned and operated by people who belong to the "DLC" "PPI" "GOP" crowd. You can go ahead and blame it on republicans all you like. And I don't doubt you since there's alot to blame.

But the facts are it is the neocons who own all the voting companies. And they may claim they belong to a certain party such as Bob Urosovich.....but they are all the same foreign spies who select their stooges and people like Zell Miller, Dana Rohrbacker, Ben Nelson.

I don't care what anyone says either: These spies infiltrated both parties and the heart of the empire. If it takes getting rid of all republicans, that will be a victory, but it doesn't matter unless every office is purged and replaced with independents.

The legal structure of our congress does not support a multi-party system, and is designed for a two party system. It is a winner take all affair.

This is not good, but it is reality.

Under the law of the House and Senate, "the Senate divides its tasks among 20 committees, 68 subcommittees, and 4 joint committees" ... "The chair of each committee and a majority of its members represent the majority party. The chair primarily controls a committee’s business" (link here).

Take an example where republicans win 30 seats, independents win 28 seats, greens win 29 seats, and democrats win 13 seats. We can now easily see that this will not work well.

The republicans with 30 seats end up as the majority party. Remember that the majority party and the majority are not the same thing in our system. The majority, in this example, is 70 votes (greens, indys, and dems), but the majority party is the republicans because they got those 30 seats.

Therefore, they get the committee chair on each and every committee, and they get the majority number of members in each and every committee of congress.

So, in our system, the majority of seats would be governed by the minority republican 30 seats.

Anyone see any way to improve this?

I do. The polls show that the body politic favors democrats in the upcoming election, and voting democrats into the majority is the public will.

We would have an easier time prevailing upon them to change the rules.

It should be pro rata based upon percentage of seats.

Committees should be distributed to all parties based upon percentage of seats in a pro rata configuration.

Otherwise, when independents, greens, democrats, and other parties fight each other the republicans always remain the majority party and therefore always control the congress.

Ban every Diebold voting machines in all 50 states and replace them with paper ballots before the 2006 election comes, otherwise the United States will be finished by the neo-cons!!!!!!! Destroy all Diebold machines now, or the Democrats will all fail this year!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: